Man shot, critically injured after Raines High School football game

Witnesses say the fight began when someone threw a soda

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 20-year-old man is in critical condition following a shooting near Raines High School after Friday night's football game against Lee High School, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Officers responding the 6000 block of Raines Vikings Way in Northwest Jacksonville about 9:30 p.m. Friday found Anthony Caesar shot twice. He was taken to Shands Jacksonville Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

JSO Sgt. Dan Janson said a fight broke out near the parking lot after the game, and as police tried to get through the crowd to stop it, shots rang out.

"Obviously there was a lot of pandemonium going on, the crowd got pretty upset. The officer discovered that one person had been shot," Janson said.

Janson said the man's identity will be released pending notification of next-of-kin.

We spoke to witnesses who said the fight started when someone threw a soda. The fight then moved to the parking lot, where shots were fired.

Janson said police do not have any suspects at this time, but are speaking with witnesses and investigating.

Channel 4 crime analyst Ken Jefferson said even though there were plenty of people around, it may be hard for detectives to get them to talk.

"One, they are saying they don't want to be involved. Two, they don't trust the police and they don't want to talk to them. Three, they are just afraid of repercussions if they were to speak," Jefferson said.

Jefferson said in a case like is, where investigators aren't sure what direction the shot came from, details from witnesses are even more critical.

"You might think well the information I have is not critical or vital, but you need to give police that information so they can make that determination whether that information is critical or not," Jefferson said.

Jefferson says this is just another instance of a growing trend to use weapons and violence to solve conflicts.

"The culture is such now that 'we'll settle this outside of the stadium, we'll settle this with a weapon' and that's just not the right thing to do. The culture has to change," Jefferson said.

If you know anything about this shooting that can help police, call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.

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